Because of UnusualLife.com, I get frequent inquiries from television producers and magazine editors about unusual homes, and 3 of the houses I’ve written about were featured this week on Evening Magazine.

This castle house is located in Winthrop, WA in the Methow Valley.

The custom home is designed to look like a medieval castle, complete with moat and battlements.

A labor of love on over a acre, designed by Ken Cramer.

Another interesting home is this church and art gallery in Sultan, Washington, on HY 2 on the way up to Stevens Pass.

It features an art gallery, a frame shop, a beautiful atrium, studio and shop space, plus living area. This would be a great place to have a little espresso stand too, and is a great stop on your way over the Cascades.

Several years ago, the Hunter’s bought this old bank in Douglas County, in the town of Waterville. Mr. Hunter restored the bank to run his law firm and he lives there with his wife. They converted one of the vaults into their guest room.

One publisher with a huge fan base is Fantagraphics Books. Fantagraphics has been active in comic publishing since 1976 and found itself at the forefront of the burgeoning movement to establish comics as a serious art medium.

Fantagraphics has been in the news recently because science-fiction writer Harlan Ellison is suing them and its co-owners, Gary Groth and Kim Thompson, for defamation and “violation of right of publicity.”

The alleged defamation regards statements in Fantagraphics’ forthcoming self-history, “We Told You So: Comics As Art.” The book says that Ellison tried to get out of paying his share of legal bills when he and Groth were co-defendants in a 1980 libel suit by comic writer Michael Fleisher. (Ellison and Groth won.) Ellison denies it while the Fantagraphics folks say they’re just commenting on a part of their history. Due out this summer, the book’s already been serialized on the publisher’s Web site.

The “violation of right of publicity” charge is for what Ellison says is the unauthorized use of his trademarked name on the cover of Fantagraphics’ “Comics Journal Library Vol. 6: The Writers,” released last summer. The volume reprints the inflammatory Groth/Ellison interview that prompted Fleisher to take them to court in the first place.

Ellison wants unspecified damages and an injunction to stop both books from being distributed. Ellison, 72, has won a vast number of awards and is best known among non-geeks for writing the most popular episode of the original “Star Trek” (“City on the Edge of Forever”). He was recently named Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America.

I first met Harlan Ellison when asked to chauffeur him around town for a Foolscap convention and accompany him to local collector Steve Bard’s very unusual home and Palace of Arts and Oddities in Seattle.

Mr. Ellison wrote “A Boy and His Dog” that was made into a film starring Don Johnson in 1975 and the novel “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream”. He’s won ten Hugo Awards, four Nebula Awards, and five Bram Stoker Awards (presented by the Horror Writers Association) including the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996. He was one of my favorite science fiction writers until I actually met the man, but I digress…..

Mr. Ellison is known to live in an unusual home in Los Angeles himself, so was anxious to view Mr. Bard’s domicile.

Steve’s house features some of the following items, the list being somewhat incomplete and less than exhaustive:

Steve and I always talk about “listing” the house for sale and having an Open House, coinciding with April Fools Day. Can you imagine the look on potential buyers and agents faces when I welcome them to this spectacular Open House?!?

Other events of note, next weekend will be the Japanese comic and popular culture convention Sakura-Con. Very cool.

And don’t miss Norwescon, the only large (3000+ attendees) annual Science fiction/fantasy convention in Seattle, is this weekend, April 5-8, at the Airport Doubletree hotel (former Red Lion). The convention features a large fantasy art show and a dealer’s room full of books, jewelry, art, costumes, etc. There are a dozen tracks of continuous programming, ranging from writers on writing, science and technology, art and costuming workshops, etc. Major convention events include a masquerade costume show, presentation of the Philip K Dick Award for best softcover novel of 2006, dances, music, gaming, and lots of parties.